Several new acidic glycosphingolipids (gangliosides) have been purified and partially characterized from the pectoral muscle of the white Leghorn chicken. They include VI3-NeuAc-nLcOse6Cer; V NeuAc, IV Gal-GbOse4Cer, and; V (NeuAc)2, IV Gal-GbOse4Cer. This project is directed to purifying the neutral and acidic glycosphingolipids of chicken skeletal muscle and to complete the detailed structural analysis of these compounds. The method of purification utilizes tetrahydrofuran solvent extraction and subsequent resolution with column chromatography employing DEAE-Sephadex and Bio-Sil A and silica gel thin layer chromatography. The structural analysis will be accomplished employing enzymatic hydrolysis with specific glycosidases and methylation techniques. It is also planned to study the biosynthesis of these glycolipids in particulate fractions of chicken muscle employing purified glycolipid acceptors. The subcellular localization of muscle glycolipids will be determined by applying the methods of purification and characterization of glycolipids to preparations of purified and characterized sarcolemma and sarcoplasmic reticulum.